33

ABRM33

CHARLOTTE'S POV:-

I opened my eyes and my cheeks burned at the sight. Benjamin was lying on the bed and I was on top of him. His arms were wrapped around my body, keeping me on top of his body. I felt the tingling sensation between my legs, his hand was cupping my ass. He was sleeping so soundly, it almost felt like a sin if I moved and he woke up. Licking my lips, I tried to move as slowly as possible. I suddenly gasped as he squeezed my ass and it woke him up.

I gasped again as he deliberately squeezed my ass again. “Ben! Stop it!” I tried to scold him but those damn butterflies in my stomach…

Benjamin let go of my ass and dragged his fingers upward. I was barely breathing at that moment. “Ben, please! Stop it.” I whispered through hoarse. He pulled his hands off of me.

I sat up and was about to move off of him. But he grabbed me by my hips, stopping me on top of his abdomen. I turned my gaze toward his. He was staring at me with a smile on his face. It brought back memories from the past. Along with, the bitterness from the past as well.

I controlled myself as I didn't want to break down in front of him. He sat up and I landed on his lap. “We need to talk. It is time we have adult talk and stop being children.” I rolled my eyes at him in annoyance as he spoke.

“After learning everything about that time, I have realized many things. Whatever happened to you, it all started because of the mistake I made. And I would like to make amends.” I was watching him with wide eyes as he spoke. Yes, I just wanted to run away from him. But part of me still sought comfort in his arms. The comfort I thought I had lost long ago.

I couldn't say I had any idea of what he might have been thinking. I was staring at him blankly. “What do you want from me, Ben? You already forced me to sign that certificate. What else?” I asked, irritated at his wishes that were starting to annoy me to my core.

He grabbed both of my hands and pulled them to his face, making me cup his face. “All I am asking you to give me is six months. I hope you can give me another chance to really prove myself to you.” It felt like after everything, he wanted to ask me to repeat it all over again. And after that humiliation I faced at the court, I was actually considering running away from him.

I never wanted to see my son again in my life but he was the only reason that kept me alive for all those years. Andrew was just a small distraction. I couldn't say if I could spend my whole life without seeing Charlie's face but every single time I thought about it, I remembered the moment when Benjamin's lawyer was accusing me of dirty things and my son was listening.

The truth was that I was afraid of facing my son. I couldn't get over those accusations. I had nightmares about Charlie quiring me about the matter. If I was a bad woman. If I cheated on Benjamin. If I used to have affairs.

I didn't even know when I started crying again. Benjamin wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest to calm me down. “If you don't want to do this, I will not force you. You have already suffered too much because of me. I will never want to see you in pain ever again.” Benjamin whispered in my ear, as if he heard all those questions I had in my head.

I pulled away from him just so I could look him in the eye. “What about Charlie?” I asked, my heart thudding at the thought of him threatening me with my baby again.

“You and I will share equal custody of Charlie, until he is an adult. He will spend a week with you, and then next one with me. How does that sound?” He replied and I frowned in confusion.

“How is that going to work for Charlie? He is not a baby. He has school.” I asked in a low tone and he scratched the back of his head.

“Alright, then! He will be with you all week and I will have him for weekends. Is that okay?” He asked with another solution and I sighed.

“Look, if you want to go, I will not stop you. And I promise I will never bother you again. But if you stay and give me a chance, I promise I will make it up to you. But if I will not be able to regain your trust and love, and if you want to leave after six months, then I will do the same. I will let you go and never bother you again.” His offer was tempting but at the same time, it worried me. I was afraid of falling for him again and then my heart wouldn't be able to recover from another heartbreak.

“I need time to think about it. Can you give me a few days?” I asked in a low tone. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't reach a decision. Maybe because I was afraid of whatever fate had in mind for me.

Benjamin cupped my face and kissed my forehead. “You can have as much time as you want. And remember this, I will never judge you for your decision. Whatever you went through, now you deserve to live on your own terms.” He replied in a low tone and I nodded my head with a small smile on my face. He crawled out of the bed and that's when I remembered something very important I needed to ask him.

“You didn't tell me what actually happened to you back then?” I asked him as he was crawling out of the bed. He froze for a moment then a smile appeared on his face and he nodded at me.

“It was nothing serious. Just a minor problem. I was alright.” He replied without looking at me. And before I could ask him more, he disappeared into the bathroom.

It felt a little weird, the way he was behaving. But he was not a child and neither was I. Despite this uneasy feeling in my chest, I tried to relax and think about the question he had asked me. I knew it was not going to be simple for me to make up my mind for anything.

………

Two days later, I was lying on the bed, reading a book. Benjamin was in the bathroom, getting ready for only God knows what. It was Saturday and he woke up early like a cock. He said he had things in his mind and he needed to prepare for the day. It felt like he had been lying to me for some reason but I just ignored it.

He stepped out of the bathroom. I crawled out of the bed and walked toward the bathroom. Suddenly, Benjamin lost his balance and was about to fall when I hooked his arms around my shoulders. “Are you alright? What happened?” I asked out of concern. He gave me that annoying smile again that had started to irritate me.

“Yeah! I am just hungry. Nothing else. Forget about me. Are you going to come out and eat with Charlie today?” He diverted the questions to me and I gulped hard. At the thought of facing my son, my heart almost stopped. I felt ashamed.

“No! I will eat in this room.” I growled at him angrily and walked into the bathroom. I didn't want him to ask me anything else. After bathing, I had my breakfast. I stayed locked into my room. I was not ready to face my son. He came knocking at my door, but I didn't respond and he eventually left.

I was reading that same book when my throat went dry. I looked at the table.and realized, I didn't have water in the room. I sighed as I had to step out to get some water. I didn't like ordering around anymore.

I walked out of the room, hoping not to see Charlie. I heard someone yelling at the servants. I walked toward the kitchen and found Joe standing there, barking orders at the servants to prepare fresh juices. “What is going on here?” I asked as they were being too loud.

As soon as Joe saw me, his face went pale. Now I knew for sure that Benjamin was hiding something from me. Joe was practically his partner in all the crimes. I placed my hands on my hips and walked toward Joe. “Tell me what is he cooking now? And don't you dare try to lie to me. You know I can catch you.” O growled at Joe.

He was smiling nervously and I saw beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Joe was nervous. “Nothing at all. Master wanted some fresh juices. So I am getting the fresh juices extracted. Nothing else.” Joe was behaving as if I didn't know Benjamin at all.

“Joe! Cut the crap. I know Benjamin doesn't like juices. He prefers smoothies. What is going on?” I asked him again, pushing him a little more.

“Nothing! I swear. Everything is fine.” Joe tried to calm me down but I was just too angry.

“Stop lying to me. Tell me what is happening with him or I swear…”

“I'll tell you!” I was interrupted when Charlie spoke from behind. I was too afraid to even look at him, afraid to see disappointment in his eyes for myself.

“Dad has cancer, Mama. He is at the hospital, getting his chemotherapy.” My heart dropped in the pit of my stomach as I heard Charlie. I looked up at Joe and found his head narrowed in front of me. That moment, I knew Charlie was not lying.

“He has the audacity to lie to me. After all those promises, he yet again lied. You will wait here for me. And you will take me to him.” I growled at Joe angrily. He didn't say anything. He just nodded his head in defeat. That was all he could do.

…….

An hour later, I was walking into the hospital. Joe guided me toward the hall where all the patients were getting their chemo. As soon as I walked in, I found him lying on a bed. He looked pale, his eyes were closed, he was breathing heavily and for some reason, he looked drained.

I had questions in my head but before I could ask them, I saw him puking twice within a minute. Gathering all the strength that I had in me, I walked up to him. “What are you doing here?” He asked, a stunned look on his face.

“After all those promises, you had to lie to me. And you expect me to believe you. How can I believe you when you lie to me all the time, Ben? I asked you many times in three days, and you said you were fine.” I kept my voice down because we were in a hall where everyone could hear us.

I didn't want to create a drama in front of everyone. Benjamin grabbed my hand and kissed my knuckle. “I didn't want you to feel pressured about the offer I made. I have forced you to do everything I wanted. This time, I wanted you to make a decision freely.” At least, he didn't lie to me again.

I saw the truth in his eyes. I was just speechless. I had nothing to say to him. Yet I just didn't want to leave. Not just yet. Maybe he knew me well too. He knew I would feel the obligation to stay once I knew what was actually wrong with him. That's why he was trying to hide the truth from me. But the question was, was I going to stay with him and give him another chance, give our relationship another shot?